King's Daughters

Hello King's Daughters. I know you haven't heard from me in a while, there is so much to say to you and so much want to share and have been keeping it all in for so long that I almost feel embarrassed to suddenly pop up again in your life. However, I know that if I just share a little now that the flow will return and I will find a way to keep in touch with you more often. So forgive me if some of this doesn't make sense, I cannot update you on all I have been through in the past year but I would like to update you on recent events.  You see, God has blessed me with a business, the Women's Business Club .  It has been up and running for one year and nine months now as has grown from strength to strength.  I have loved almost every minute of the journey, there have been a few challenging minutes that I have not loved too much but mostly I have loved the journey. One thing that came of this business is financial profit.  After years of lack and financial struggl

It's that time of year again, the beginning of a brand new season filled with exciting possibilities. Even though we all expect good things to happen sometimes bad things happen too :(  At times we can avoid these bad things by staying in line with God's pure and perfect will for our lives. Other times bad things must happen as a part of God's perfect will for our life. Either way, staying spiritually strong and connected to God is essential and one of the best ways to do that is to fast. Fasting not only makes our spirit stronger but it also cleanses our bodies. If you are interested to know more about every that fasting can do for you please read He Restores My Soul . Bondages, addictions and bad habits. He told them, "This kind can come out only by prayer and fasting." - Mark 9:29 In the verse above Jesus was answering the disciples question about why they were unable to cast out a particular demon that day. Jesus response was that the kind of demon tha

Merry Christmas to all you beautiful King's Daughters and a very happy New Year! 2014 was a difficult and wonderful year for me.  I did struggle to write, as you may have noticed.  It may have been writers block, it may have been busyness or it may just have been a season to 'pen down' and have a break. It's been nearly six years since I started writing to you right here on this very blog and I have loved every minute of it. 2015 is already packed with a great deal and I am so excited about the journey, but I will write as often as possible and share the journey with you and hopefully encourage you too in your journey. Looking back to my very first blog post to you on 13/04/2009, I realise that my message hasn't changed one bit and neither has my passion for this message. As I read over the words and reflect on them I notice that I am pretty much still writing the same things just in different ways to various different audiences.  And so rather than write som

A short while ago ago I was invited to stand in the local borough elections for the Benhall and The Reddings ward in Cheltenham. The elections took place last on 22nd May and I received 594 votes. My opponent received 1188 votes so clearly I did not win. However, I don't feel like I lost either. I learned so much and gained so much and I can honestly say that it was well worth it. I will definitely stay involved.  Today I would like to share some of the valuable things that I learned with you: Politicians are Real People Local politics is often confused with national politics.  Yes in theory we are all one party but in reality the local councilors have little if any contact with the national leaders.  We might get to meet one or two national leaders but we are unlikely to become their best friends and change the country with them.  So what I want to focus on is our perception of local politicians and the simplest way that I can describe a local councilor is that they are very

Continuing on from my previous post  on depression, let's take a look at happiness.  Not that depression is the absence of happiness but it is difficult to be happy while suffering with depression.  Some people can just be happy - I envy them. Other people, like myself, have to make an effort to be happy. Don't get me wrong, I have happy days that just come and it's wonderful.  It's those other days, the days when I have to work at it that are a bit more difficult. You see, I believe happiness is a choice. We can choose to be happy but it does require some effort on our part. I have days when even getting out of bed is difficult.  Being self employed makes it even more difficult as I have no one to answer to but myself. Sometimes I just stay in bed and work on my laptop - that way I still get some work done without having to find the strength to get up.  Other days I have to force myself to get up and have to find a  reason  to get up.  I am not lazy I just struggle

One of the many things that the Americans get right is their patriotism!  I often see American homes with their flags proudly hanging outside their door or hear them speak highly of their country.  It is a wonderful thing. Here in the UK I often see Brazilian flags, Polish flags and other flags from foreigners living here who are proud of the country they have come from.  NEVER have I seen a British flag displayed in front of a British person's home and all I EVER hear from locals is their complaints about this country.  COME ON PEOPLE!  The country is made up of you and I. Let's start off with being proud to be British.  Let's support local businesses.  Let's find good things to say about our country. Let's back up and support our leaders who are doing their best to do what they think is right for this nation. It is usually those that do the least that say the most.  Judge your own mouth and your own actions please. Until you are willing to step in 'their'

THIS MONDAY 7th April 2014 we launch our brand new event called Business, Ministry and Politics. King's Daughters has taken a very definite direction change into these three areas with an emphasis on how we use these areas to share the gospel.  We are called to be salt and light and it is our mission and obsession to get the salt and light into the places where it is needed.  As Christians we need to seek and desire places of influence within our communities so that we can be salt and light.  What good is salt if it remains in it's container and what good is light if it isn't in darkness?  We must position ourselves in places of darkness in order to be light but don't go alone .  If you are in business (either self employed or employed) then are you using your position to lead and shine?  If you are in politics are you using your influence in your town, city and nation?  If you are in ministry are you teaching and equipping those around you to be light and are you servi

Continuing on from my previous post , I wanted to look into the other side of depression.  The side where people use it to be lazy or to do nothing for the kingdom.  Yes there is a time when you need to slow down or stop in order to recover and get well but there is no reason to throw your whole life away and write off your future.  Depression is not a lifestyle it is a season. It can be cured and it can be managed.  If you are newly depressed or burnt out you may need to stop what you are doing and have a season of rest. What did God tell Elijah to do when he was newly depressed? Let's read about it in 1 King's 19:4-8 "Elijah  went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, “It is enough! Now, Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!” Then as he lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an angel touched him, and said to him, “Arise and eat.” Then he looked, and there by hi

Continuing on from my previous post , I wanted to talk about the Christian view of depression.  You see, very recently I faced complete burnout and ended up going to the doctor only to discover that I was on the high end of the depression scale.  It never occurred to me that I was depressed or burnt out because I have lived a balanced life and followed all of the steps I wrote about in my book  Hope's Journey . It did not even cross my mind that the series of difficult situations that I have faced over the past two year had actually worn me down!  I am a survivor - I just get on with things. Thank goodness for a good Christian friend who had the boldness to confront me and encourage me to see my doctor. She recognised the symptoms as she too suffers with depression but she also understood that as Christians, admitting to depression is the hardest thing. So why do I keep mentioning Christians, what makes it different for a Christian?  Well, first of all we are always told how

In September 2010 I released my very first book called Hope's Journey  where I opened shared my struggle and victory over depression, suicide and self harming.  Since that day I have had a couple of mild relapses into my old ways but can honestly say that today I am completely free of any temptation or desire to self harm in any way.  Perhaps the darkness became deeper after the book was released because I felt exposed or perhaps it was 'someone' trying to rob me of my testimony.  Times were especially difficult in the weeks before I was scheduled to publicly speak on this subject or share my testimony.  At times the struggle was intense but I knew that many would be encouraged by my story so I knew I had to stay strong and remain in victory or else too much would be lost. It had been a battle before Hope's Journey was released and continued to be a different sort of battle afterwards too.  At times I wondered if complete freedom would ever be possible but I continu

Being YOU The most powerful thing that you have to offer the world is the authentic you.  You are indisputably original.   Understanding your value will unlock your potential and take you to places that you never dreamed possible. Are you tired of the same old, same old? Are you yearning for more out of life? Feel you can do so much better than you are? The great news is that the answer is not to be found in a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. The answer is inside of YOU! Being You shows you exactly how you can begin your journey of self discovery and capitalise on your very own exclusive, unique brand – the authentic you! Get ready to turn your life around completely and live life the way you were meant to, simply by being you! Find out: How to discover the real you again – your passions, your talents, your purpose  How to capitalise on your own unique brand – you - at work and in business  How to use past failures as stepping stones to

Merry Christmas! Today is Jesus birthday so I thought it would be nice to share a little bit about what Jesus means to me and why I am so grateful that He came to the earth in human form on this special Christmas day.    In a nutshell there are two words to describe why I love Jesus.  Life and grace. Knowing Jesus has given me a new life, in fact He has kept me alive.  You can hear my story in the video below about how I nearly took my own life - several times.  I also wrote about this in great detail in my book Hope's Journey .  I am alive because He chose to die.  His death = my life! Grace, the other reason why I cannot thank Jesus enough for loving me.  I am so utterly flawed in so many ways but His grace is sufficient for me.  So no matter how many things I do wrong, it is what He did right that defines me.  Almost every day I say sorry and move on.  I no longer live in guilt and shame but I am free to be me. I know I am completely loved, even on my worse day.  I know t

As you probably guessed, yesterday was my birthday and I am now a good ripe 40 years old!  This birthday has been no secret as I have used it as an excuse to make it as memorable as possible, and it has been.  I have celebrated in style with my 1920's party that has attracted both newspaper and radio attention.   It's wonderful to reach such a nice age and I know life only gets better from here :) I am thrilled to have won a meal for two at Pizza Express - what a lovely birthday surprise. I entered a competition at  The Best of Cheltenham  and won!  The lovely Lorah Kelly was there to capture it all! Angela De Souza with Andy Jones of Pizza Express and Will Lewis of The Best of Cheltenham My lovely husband, Eric, eating a delicious pizza with me at Pizza Express, Cheltenham I didn't actually eat carbs because I was all carbed out from the lovely lunch Lorah prepared for me, so I had a Leggera Superfood Salad My carb overload thanks to Lorah My ch

I am grateful to my God for loving me in a way that I never thought was possible.  He saved my life, cleaned up my mess and gave me a second chance, and a third chance, and a fourth chance.......  I have given up on starting over now and just live each day by His grace .  There is no more condemnation, I live freely as a beautiful butterfly.  I am grateful for my husband who patiently and lovingly stands by me and loves me for these past 10 years!  Without him I would not be as happy as I am today.  He is the cherry on my cake and the warm fuzzy feeling in my heart :) I am grateful for Lorah-Kelly, my first born child who has been with me on this journey called life for 22 years.  She has been with me through my best and also through my worst but has only ever seen the good in me.  I am hugely who I am today because of her constant encouragement and support. I am grateful for Samuel who has loved and cared for Lorah since she was 14!  He is definitely the one for Lorah and I cannot

Last week we were invited to BBC Radio Gloucestershire to chat to Claire Carter about our King's Daughters Village.  Have a listen below. The Women's Business Club and D7 Church paid for the 1920's party so that we could put all the profit towards the project and the lovely ladies from Destiny Temple cooked a delicious Kenyan meal for us.  The Gloucestershire Echo committed to giving us full media support which has been fantastic and JSR Digital Marketing took on the social media campaign. Lorah Kelly Creative Photography  also captured everything for us on her camera so we can treasure the memories forever. Thank you to everyone that has been involved thus far, there is lots more to come in 2014 and there is plenty room for more involvement, so if you would like to get involved in some way or host a fundraiser please get in touch .   Keep up to date with news and updates here .

As you may  have noticed, I have been spending a lot of time in the business world this year.  God has called me and anointed me for business, as a minister in the business world, and it has been an incredible journey.  Since  preaching on this very subject  one year ago in our church, my whole life has changed.  I resisted God for about six months as I did not want to go back into the business world, the failure of my first company was a deep disappointment and I was convinced that I was not a business woman.  God saw things differently.  My resistance crumbled and He had His way - thank goodness! I have seen the most incredible things happen as a result and I know that God uses the foolish things to confound the wise . I always say to God that I am willing to be the foolish thing in his hand.  I am good at that - being nothing and allowing Him to be everything.  So as a result of all the wonderful and scary things that have happened this year, Women's Business Club was born.

Apology Firstly, I want to apologise to all my faithful email followers for the lack of blogging these past few weeks.  Since starting this blog in 2009 I have never been too busy to blog but this past month or so has been the busiest I have been in my life!  However, the good news is that you will soon be getting much more and better quality blogging from me. News I also want to apologise for using my blog as a business website, it was out of necessity but now that will stop as we have created a brand new site for the business side of things called the Women's Business Club   - check out all the new sites here: www Website:    www.womensbusinessclub.co.uk Facebook:    www.facebook.com/wombizclub Twitter: www.twitter.com/wombizclub   YouTube: www.youtube.com/wombizclub   LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/   GooglePlus: www.plus.google.com/110671150713694453023   Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/wombizclub   Giveaway The great news is that over the past few

Last week Lorah and I had the most amazing morning together at All Your Life in Cheltenham. Let me start at the very beginning! We arrived at the beautiful reception and were whisked away into the lounge where we were given a glass of bubbly. This is the before photo! Before... Then we were invited to use the Fat Burning Room to experience the Vibrating Power Plates! Well, there is no photo of this as I really don't want you to see all my fat wobbling about. It's was fun but at the same time I could really feel the plates working my muscles. You are shown a chart with various exercises that you can do on the plates to target particular muscle groups or you can just stand on the plates and giggle! Mostly, Lorah and I just giggled. We were then take to the fishy room our fish pedicure. I honestly didn't know that I would have such a problem with putting my feet in the tank. Usually I am up for trying just about anything, but when it came to the crunch, I fou